- Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands
Marijke Naezer
Radboud University Nijmegen, Gender and Diversity Studies, Department Member
- Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Gender Studies, Department Memberadd
- Marijke Naezer is a postdoc researcher at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.edit
In this chapter, we argue that a dominant anti-technology narrative in psychological research that informs many popular ideas about technological risk does not reflect the complexities of young people’s experiences with sexuality and... more
In this chapter, we argue that a dominant anti-technology narrative in psychological research that informs many popular ideas about technological risk does not reflect the complexities of young people’s experiences with sexuality and social media. We will use research from the fields of gender studies, queer studies, sociology, anthropology, pedagogy, and media studies, as well as our own empirical data to argue for a more nuanced and complex understanding of social media’s impact on youth sexuality. First, we will explore further the dichotomous thinking represented in present-day discourses about youth, sexuality, and social media. After that, we will go into the small, but growing, number of critical, empirical studies that interrogate and challenge these dichotomies by focusing on young people’s own experiences and perspectives, which are much more varied. Building on these studies, we explore our own research findings attempting to broaden the scope of public and academic debates by introducing four different dimensions of online sexuality. For each of these dimensions, we will discuss how young people’s practices and ideas complicate stereotypical, gendered, and heteronormative narratives and dichotomies.
Research Interests: Queer Studies, Sociology of Children and Childhood, Digital Literacy, Digital Media, Qualitative methodology, and 15 moreGender and Sexuality, Social Media, LGBT Youth, Sexual citizenship, Sexual Identity, Gender and education, Adolescence (Psychology), Intimacy, Heteronormativity, Childhood studies, Sex Education, Sexuality education, Social Networking & Social Media, Sexual Minority Youth, and Youth Sexuality
Western discourses about young people and sexuality centre around the concept of risk. Anxieties have been fuelled by the increasing popularity of social media and practices such as ‘sexting’ and watching ‘sexually explicit’ materials... more
Western discourses about young people and sexuality centre around
the concept of risk. Anxieties have been fuelled by the increasing
popularity of social media and practices such as ‘sexting’ and watching
‘sexually explicit’ materials online. Research has shown however that
such risk discourses mainly serve to moralise about, pathologise and
police particular behaviours and children. In order to counter such
paternalism, researchers advocated a reconceptualisation of youth
not as passive victims, but as active agents who actively negotiate
sexual experiences and discourses. In this paper, which is based on
ethnographic fieldwork among young people in The Netherlands,
I argue that we need a reconceptualisation not only of youth, but
also of their sexual practices, especially their online sexual practices.
Mobilising an interdisciplinary interaction between critical sociocultural
studies of risk, feminist theory and adventure studies, I
propose to reconceptualise these practices as ‘adventures’ rather
than ‘risky behaviour’. This opens up possibilities for a more reasoned
analysis that acknowledges: (1) the distinction between risks and
outcomes of an activity; (2) the constructive potential of risk; and (3)
the subjective, dynamic character of risk and pleasure.
the concept of risk. Anxieties have been fuelled by the increasing
popularity of social media and practices such as ‘sexting’ and watching
‘sexually explicit’ materials online. Research has shown however that
such risk discourses mainly serve to moralise about, pathologise and
police particular behaviours and children. In order to counter such
paternalism, researchers advocated a reconceptualisation of youth
not as passive victims, but as active agents who actively negotiate
sexual experiences and discourses. In this paper, which is based on
ethnographic fieldwork among young people in The Netherlands,
I argue that we need a reconceptualisation not only of youth, but
also of their sexual practices, especially their online sexual practices.
Mobilising an interdisciplinary interaction between critical sociocultural
studies of risk, feminist theory and adventure studies, I
propose to reconceptualise these practices as ‘adventures’ rather
than ‘risky behaviour’. This opens up possibilities for a more reasoned
analysis that acknowledges: (1) the distinction between risks and
outcomes of an activity; (2) the constructive potential of risk; and (3)
the subjective, dynamic character of risk and pleasure.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Youth empowerment is the main goal of sex education according to Dutch Government and NGO policies. Academics from different disciplines have argued, however, that the ideal of empowerment through education is problematic,... more
ABSTRACT Youth empowerment is the main goal of sex education according to Dutch Government and NGO policies. Academics from different disciplines have argued, however, that the ideal of empowerment through education is problematic, because of the unequal power relations implicated in educational practices. Building on one-and -a-half years of online and offline ethnographic fieldwork among Dutch youth, this article argues that Dutch sex educational policies inhibit rather than encourage young people’s empowerment by allowing only a limited number of sexual knowledge building practices to thrive while making others nearly impossible. In order to facilitate young people’s empowerment, policies should aim to create space for young people to develop their own themes and priorities, to offer a multitude of perspectives, to set the pace and to use different strategies for sexual knowledge building, including learning by doing and online learning. This requires a cultural shift that involves both an openness to young people’s experimentation, and a change in existing power hierarchies based on age.
Research Interests:
Analyses van seksuele kindermishandeling gaan vaak over actueel misbruik: hoe kunnen hulpverleners het signaleren en waar kunnen kinderen terecht? Elk verhaal heeft echter een vervolg. De kinderen groeien op, volgen een opleiding, krijgen... more
Analyses van seksuele kindermishandeling gaan vaak over actueel misbruik: hoe kunnen hulpverleners het signaleren en waar kunnen kinderen terecht? Elk verhaal heeft echter een vervolg. De kinderen groeien op, volgen een opleiding, krijgen een baan, een relatie, worden moeder of vader, oma of opa. Welke rol speelt het misbruik dan nog? En waar kunnen zij terecht als de gevolgen zich blijven manifesteren?
Afstudeerscriptie Culturele Antropologie, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen. Uitgegeven als boekje in het kader van de Catharina Halkes Scriptieprijs.